In this article the authors report on the use of a scaffolding pedagogy (Gibbons, 2009), informed by systemic functional linguistics, to support the writing of English language learners in middle years curriculum learning. They focus on the work of one teacher and her English class across the first 18 months of a longitudinal design-based literacy…

In this article, we focus on instructional support for 91 students who speak African American Vernacular English and who are at high risk for not passing the required state exams. We profile the instruction that was provided and the results from that instruction, providing examples of how students' language was scaffolded such that they could code…

This article reports on an individual differences study that investigated the role of implicit statistical learning in the acquisition of syntax in children. One hundred children ages 4 years 5 months through 6 years 11 months completed a test of implicit statistical learning, a test of explicit declarative learning, and standardized tests of…

Rodent studies have suggested that "pattern separation," the ability to distinguish among similar experiences, is diminished in a subset of aged rats. We extended these findings to the human using a task designed to assess spatial pattern separation behavior (determining at time of test whether pairs of pictures shown during the study were in the…

The thesis is that a test taker's chances for success on a standardized test are related to the similarity between the test taker's linguistic competence and the linguistic presuppositions of the test. This article is adapted from a paper presented at the 1977 Georgetown University Roundtable of Linguistics. (Author)

Two hundred and twenty-five fourth, fifth, and sixth graders who represented a relatively wide range of abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds were the subjects of this study designed to investigate the relationships between language-pattern encoding (spelling) and reading proficiency. The two primary null hypotheses were (1) that knowledge of…

The Toronto Early Identification and Developmental Program (E.I.D.P.) has three main aspects: (1) the screening of kindergarten and first grade children in terms of potential learning difficulties; (2) service to the child and family together with supportive help to the school staff; and (3) research in connection with screening instruments. The…

Four tests--PPVT, ITPA, MRT, WPPSI--commonly used to measure language development in young children are evaluated by four criteria: (1) what development aspects do they claim to tap; (2) what do they actually tap; (3) what linguistic knowledge is presupposed; (4) what special problems face a non-standard English speaker. These tests are considered…

Eight papers addressing a variety of issues in communication skills and language arts instruction are contained in this document. Among the topics covered in the eight papers are the following: (1) language structure in teaching reading, (2) issues of dialect-specific materials, (3) language mismatch in the reading classroom, (4) miscue analysis,…